Odysseus
by SixtyYDidU
Summary: The Insurrection and the Covenant both threaten the UEG and its people. Struggling to manage both threats, Spartan-II Fireteams are deployed to make quick work of the URF remnants, eliminating their leadership and tying up one more loose end. Fireteam Odysseus is one of many fireteams to be deployed with the mission of eliminating high-ranking URF leaders.


-Prologue-

0930 HOURS, JULY 28, 2536 (MILITARY CALENDAR) VITALYEVNA III, SVERDLOVSK SYSTEM

Yonalli scanned the cliff side, a structure sitting at the top against the blue sky. The cliff was extremely barren, patches of grass in some spots, sure, but the rest… A red dirt, peppered with dark rocks and pebbles. A hell of a climb for any ordinary person. You'd have to set up a lot of equipment to scale this cliff in any normal scenario. However, thanks to Yonalli's Spartan-II augmentations, he had the strength, agility, and reaction time to handle it without much support. There wasn't time to set up climbing equipment, anyways. Right now, the skill of a Spartan-II was all there was.

"You, Tuskan, and I are going to scale the cliff face. Agnes will set up his shop here and make sure no strays try to bring us back down, not that it's likely." Hagan, Fireteam Odysseus's team leader, pulled a blanket of monotone-colored leaves over his head. "He'll watch the streets, we'll manage the HVT. Should go smoothly."

Yonalli nodded, pulling his ghillie up as well. They really were gonna scale that cliff face. Not that he was surprised, he just didn't want to make assumptions until the final word was given. The scenario always seemed to change, and a lot of Odysseus's decisions were made on the fly. Hagan was better with that style, anyways. Even if the operation was planned, Odysseus's team leader always had a backup or three ready in the back of his head, and when those didn't work, he could always figure something out ad hoc.

"I'm cool with that. What's the deal when we get to the top?" Tuskan, Odysseus's machine gunner, asked Hagan as he too pulled his cover over the top of his head.

"Should be pretty simple. Keep close to me until we get inside the structure, clear the rooms according to the floorplan HIGHCOM provided. You find the HVT, you drop him, simple as that. Agnes has the floor covered, so don't even worry about down here. Like Hudson said, security is light, and unaware. _Ode to Joy _did her best to get us here quietly, so make it worth it, not that I doubt you will." Hagan stepped past Yonalli, descended the stair well as he spoke. Tuskan followed, and Yonalli gave Agnes one last nod, received one in return, before catching up with the two.

Yonalli pictured the sniper laying low on the rooftop, eyeing the Spartan IIs as they ascended the cliff. Being a sniper sounding boring, especially when you didn't have a spotter to talk to. He used to say that about Antista. Now he only hoped Agnes could do Antista's job as well as she used to do it. The sniper had some large shoes to fill.

"Can I say it yet?" Yonalli spoke from the silence. The three Spartans were passing by cars, descending the parking garage until they'd reach the ground floor.

"Fine. Go ahead." Hagan shook his head, walking at the very front of the formation.

"You know it doesn't feel right. I don't dislike the guy, but it just feels wrong having him take her orders." Yonalli sighed. He knew Tuskan felt the same way, but Hagan had stayed quiet with his opinions since Agnes had been put into Odysseus.

"Without our sniper, we aren't as effective as we should be. You both know Antista isn't just gonna walk in and pick her rifle back up. If you've got a problem with Odysseus working at full potential, I could always have someone take your place too." Hagan spoke coldly, not a bone in his body would even indicate he was communicating with the two behind him. His voice stayed still, monotone, and sure, even with those last few words.

"Don't say that shit, Hagan. I've been cool with your distance since Antista went MIA, but that doesn't mean I'll just shut up and let you say that kind of crap." Yonalli's voice fluctuated, as Tuskan paused for just a moment at how quickly the mood changed. Sure, Antista was on all their minds, but now it was forefront, and Hagan had just spoken his piece, something all of Odysseus usually respected.

"Listen, Yonalli, it's not a personal issue. I feel the same way about the situation, but that doesn't mean we can just go and doubt everything we're doing right now. Hudson is the reason we all met in the first place, and now you're telling me you don't agree with his decision to bring in Agnes? Thought I learned you both better than that back on Reach. If you don't have trust then why even do all this?" Hagan's voice began to move a bit as he spoke. His tone rose, and his head shifted a bit to the right. Yonalli backed off.  
"It's fine. I trust Agnes, I do. It's not that I doubt his combat readiness, it's…" Yonalli trailed off. He took a deep breath, and kept quiet. Not Hagan nor Tuskan attempted to pursue the end of the statement. They both knew how hard it was to find the words to describe their feelings. After all, neither of them had found the words yet either.

Tuskan tugged at the rock a bit, checking its sturdiness. Work hours made sure the roads weren't busy, so finding an opening to cross over to the cliff was relatively quick. The ghillies would easily conceal the Spartans with the rocky foliage, as long as they kept a steady climb. If anyone did get too suspicious, it wouldn't take long for Agnes to find them. Odysseus was putting a lot of faith into that Spartan's shooting ability.

Yonalli turned his head a bit, scanning the rooftops for Agnes. Several structures looked similar to the parking garage, but not one revealed a scope glint. Yonalli was sure he'd looked over every structure, before giving in and re-enabling TeamHUD. Sure enough, there was Agnes, right where Yonalli thought he'd be. He laughed to himself a bit, before rotating back to the rocks and pulling himself up alongside Hagan. He kept his mouth shut for the time being as he dug his elbows into patches of loose dirt, and clutched rocky steps between his fingers. About a hundred and twenty meters above would be the final pull to the object site.

Four hundred feet above, Mir Isayev probably lounged about on this fine Saturday morning, thinking about senior photos for his children, or which suit he'd wear for his speeches next Tuesday. Whatever went through his head, it definitely wasn't the idea that an augmented human special ops team was literally crawling to his backdoor to stop his heart beat. He wasn't fighting on the field right now, therefore he need not worry about his enemies. The URF Navy Commander was probably in a state of thought that might have even caused him to momentarily forget his status in the Insurrection Wars. The cozy futon in his open condo ensured a peaceful state of mind, a comfortable weekend. Zarubin and Wieczorek were just outside in the driveway as well, probably talking their usual chat about the state of the war. Those two were the only real reminder for Isayev that wartimes continued. If any problems did arise, however, they'd simply tell it to leave the premises or face further legal action. Simple. It really was quite the calming Saturday.

"I have first visual. Got no immediate security on the exterior. Confirmation that glass is one way." Yonalli spoke through the Odysseus COMs channel as his head slowly swiveled to the right.

"Right behind you, Yonalli." Tuskan spoke, tapping Yonalli's foot before pulling himself low against the edge. Hagan arrived close behind as well, pausing to observe beside the two.

"Alright, pull up the floorplans and get to work. Tuskan, I want you to clear the garage, move from there. Yonalli, you take first floor, I'll take second." As Hagan spoke, the floorplan would ping the areas he mentioned as he mentioned them. Yonalli planned his movement according to where he was told to go, and where he'd go from there to clear the first floor as fast as possible. "Alright, let's get moving." Hagan would give a nod, the team's universal go-ahead.

As the team dispersed, Yonalli would vault over the cliff edge and start a low sprint to the condo's patio. The Spartan would bend low as his form came close to the patio's outer wall, arching his back to hang just below the stretch of glass panes. He waited for Tuskan to disappear around the condo's wall to the left before he made a quick crawl to the patio door and pushed it open softly. His large soles would fall against the carpet, however they would emit little sound as Yonalli moved into the patio room with a careful swiftness. As he scanned the room's tight perimeter, he'd come to a crouch at the double-glass doors that opened into the condo's main hall.

"Moving into the garage." Tuskan's voice would come over the radio in Yonalli's helmet.

"I'm up top now." Hagan would reply. "Get moving, Odysseus."

Yonalli informed Hagan that he was now entering the main hall, before tugging lightly at the glass doors, causing them to slide open. As he stepped onto the carpeted floor, advancing down the corridor with his arm pressed lightly against the right wall, he'd come to the first room. Wrapping his palm around the doorknob, Yonalli would twist and press the door into the room, stepping inside its space with his M7S caseless submachine gun in hand, scanning the room with the gun's SS/M-49 sound suppressor. A bedroom, filled with a single bed and a wardrobe. An ottoman sat at the foot of the bed, and a nightstand rested beside the head of the bed, a lamp sitting atop it. The room was, otherwise, empty.

Yonalli pulled the door shut softly, turning the handle as it closed to avoid the sound of the latch clicking. The Spartan turned back towards the corridor, spotting one other door. He would make his way towards it, as Tuskan's voice came over the radio.

"Garage clear, moving into the side hall."

Yonalli checked the floor plan. The side hall was a short corridor connecting the garage to the kitchen area, where Tuskan would be heading now. As Yonalli glanced at the room he was approaching on the floor plan, he'd notice the existence of a bathroom. Noted. The Spartan stopped just outside the door, and pulled the same maneuver as before, turning the handle softly and pressing the door in with his M7S raised. He checked behind the door with a quick glance, before moving towards the bathroom and clearing it as well.

"Second floor commons cleared. Moving to the hallway." Hagan would announce.

Yonalli closed the door softly behind him, as he continued down the corridor and around the first bend. Opening up to the kitchen, Yonalli would spot Tuskan on the other end, just clearing the side hall. Yonalli nodded to him, and received a nod in return as the two moved into the kitchen at the same time, with Yonalli turning and clearing the right half, Tuskan clearing Yonalli's left. Yonalli would hear the sound of Tuskan checking the walk-in pantry, before the light scuffling of his feet would stop just beside Yonalli.

"Tuskan, Yonalli, second floor hall is clear. Coming down the stairwell now." Hagan would inform them.

"Understood. Tuskan and I have the kitchen clear. First floor dining room and commons are all that's left. Meet you there." Yonalli responded. Hagan's acknowledgement light winked on TeamHUD, and Yonalli pressed forward.

As Tuskan stopped to do a quick scan of the dining room, Yonalli maintained his approach into the commons, spotting Hagan descending the stairs. They nodded to each other, watching their backs as they entered the commons. It was a large room, filled with tables and furniture spread in convenient and comfortable locations, with a couple ottomans dotting the space as well. On one end was a large door, a shoe rack resting beside it implied it was the front entrance. On the other end, was a long couch facing out an enormous window. A backyard view displayed a pond, accompanied by fountain spewing water against the reddish backdrop of the open sky. Just over the cliff that Odysseus had scaled moments ago, was the distant skyline of New Moscow, clouded in a dark haze and dotted with aircraft zipping just above the city's tall structures. On the couch lay an unwary figure, gazing out at the sight.

Hagan beckoned to the figure, giving Yonalli the go ahead, before moving to watch the front door. Yonalli paused for a moment, waiting for Hagan to get settled, then began a slow approach towards the man. Yonalli rose to a standing position, lifting his M7S up and towards the man's face. Positive ID. This was Mir Isayev. Then the front door opened.

Isayev turned to face the M7S's suppressor, glaring down the rifled barrel that was now inches from his face. Yonalli was faced elsewhere, his eyes on the now open front door. Two figures stood in the doorway, a man and a woman, young, but not children. Their faces, once smiles, now watched, horrified at the sight they'd stumbled onto. Everyone froze for a few seconds, before Isayev made the first move. Yonalli spun back to Mir as his SMG was tugged on. The man shoved the gun away, before rolling onto the floor and crawling towards the kitchen. Yonalli fired a burst of shots, his M7S cracking and whistling as two rounds hit Mir in the waist, throwing him onto his stomach. The young woman screamed, and Hagan made an effort to silence her. The young man stood motionless, as Tuskan advanced to keep him quiet as well. Two armed men jogged up from the street, as the young man made a dash for the stairs. Tuskan sidestepped towards him, reaching out his arms, before the armed personnel outside fired shots through the doorway.

Yonalli hopped over the couch and grabbed Mir, the man bleeding onto his carpet and breathing sharply. He did little to resist, as Yonalli lifted him by his shirt collar and tossed him away from the kitchen. Yonalli's M7S cracked another time, causing Mir to cease all movement, as his chest stopped rising. Tuskan ducks and turns back to the safety of the kitchen as a flurry of bullets from outside hit his armour. Stray rounds strike the young woman in Hagan's arms, and she falls heavy. Hagan drops the corpse and jumps behind the door frame as his armour receives a few shots as well.

"Isayev is dead. Let's get moving." Yonalli jogged beside Tuskan, huddling low as he spoke through the radio.

"Agreed. Two armed personnel out front, one presence confirmed upstairs. Time to go." Hagan responded. "Take the patio exit. I'll be close behind." Hagan switched channels, tuning into Agnes's frequency. "Agnes, we're coming back down. Might have company, watch the cliff-side road. Two armed personnel may pursue via automobile."

"I hear you, Hagan. Get down here, I'll have your back." Agnes responded. Hagan switched back to Tuskan and Yonalli. "Move, Agnes has us covered." The other two wink their acknowledgement lights, and turn down the corridor towards the patio.

Hagan tugs a nine-banger from his waist, yanking the pin and thrusting his hand just around the corner of the door frame. The gunfire halts, and as soon as the first bang goes off, Hagan sprints through the commons and after Tuskan and Yonalli. Clearing the hall, Hagan passes through the glass doors, then out the patio door, into the back courtyard. Tuskan and Yonalli are already ducking at the cliff edge, and Hagan darts around the pond after them. Suddenly, he stumbles at an immense impact force, hitting him in his left abdomen. Hagan drops to a knee for just a moment, the air knocked from his lungs, as he quickly stands back up and jogs towards the cliff edge. A shotgun. Not too threatening with his Mark IV MJOLNIR protecting him, but a threat nonetheless. Hagan turns to the balcony as he runs, spotting the young man from earlier holding a shotgun in his arms, his face taut with hatred and determination. Hagan turns back to the cliff edge, sliding along the red dirt and coming to a stop just before the descent. A third shot from the shotgun glances Tuskan as he descends, but he continues un-affected, and Hagan quickly follows just above him.

Agnes exhales softly from his prone position. His optics are zeroed in at about a hundred and forty-two meters as he spectated Odysseus's descent back down the cliff face. Once he confirmed that they'd come down with no cliff-top threats, Agnes swung his M99 Stanchion's barrel around to face the winding road on the opposite side of the rise. If there were any pursuers, they'd come down from there. Agnes's 5.4mm/.21 caliber Special Applications Anti-Matériel Rifle would do the perfect job at halting any threat approaching from that direction. With a round that could travel at 15,000 meters per second, and an effective range of 4.5 kilometers, there wasn't much that could survive a round from the cannon. Agnes smirked to himself as he slid to the right a bit, the Stanchion turning on it's bipod. As he turned, the computer mounted beside the optics automatically zeroed and calculated wind velocity. A small arch would appear, displaying his round's trajectory as it would leave the muzzle, and once everything was set, Agnes would simply wait.

Pulling his arms out from under the rifle, letting the stock set down on the concrete, Agnes would snag his UNSC-MC842 monocular, peering through them at Odysseus as the descended. It wouldn't be long before they reached the ground, and Agnes was sure they'd make it down unharmed, however it was the travel time to the parking garage that Odysseus was most vulnerable. Agnes wasn't worried about any real threats, seeing as response time would be awhile, as a result of Isayev's condo's distance from New Moscow. The only real threat were the security personnel, and they definitely weren't armed enough to take on a Spartan Fireteam. Agnes watched for a moment longer, as Odysseus clambered down the last few feet of rock, landing safely in the dirt pull-off beside the main road. Agnes nodded to himself, setting down the monocular and turning back to his Stanchion. Now that the stock was firm against his shoulder, and his HUD displayed the view through the Stanchion's optics, it was time to wait, but not for long. As a single minute passed, and the sight of the F-150 Sandcat pickup truck came around the bend and down the winding road, Agnes exhaled sharply, clearing his lungs and aligning his crosshair. As the bullet trajectory lined up right alongside the driver's head, Agnes squeezed the trigger.

Hagan vaulted over the rail guard, landing in the dirt pull off and stepping onto the road. He glanced to his left, the distant skyline of New Moscow peaking just over the hill. Once Odysseus reached the parking garage, it'd be a short drive in an unmarked red sedan to the outskirts of New Moscow, where a D77-TC Pelican Dropship would be waiting to escort Odysseus back up and aboard the Savannah-Class Prowler _Ode To Joy_.

"We clear, Agnes." Hagan asked, as Tuskan and Yonalli approached him from behind, stopping to wait for the word to cross.

"Just a second." Agnes responded. Hagan stood quietly, checking each direction of the road several times over for any approaching threat. Suddenly, the familiar sonic boom of Agnes's Stanchion sounded off in the distance. The echo of the shot trailed off, before Hagan would hear a whining sound, tires skidding, and then a final crash.

"You're clear, Odysseus." Agnes would state.

As Hagan jogged across the road, he would glance to the right, where he'd spot a white pickup truck sitting unmoving, it's hood shattered against the cliff face, black tire trails behind the vehicle running all the way up the hill. All that remained of the driver's top half was his right shoulder, his corpse slumped against the driver-side door. The passenger lay motionless, his head against the dash and shards of glass embedded in his skull. The windshield was completely shattered, and the front right tire was now completely deflated.

"Good shooting, Agnes." Yonalli spoke as he jogged close behind Hagan.

"Alright Agnes, get moving towards the parking garage. We'll be waiting for you there." Hagan watched the truck for awhile as he crossed, slightly amazed at the damage done.

"Rog', Hagan. Packing up."

The sedan ran softly through the streets of New Moscow, security vehicle passing by with lights blaring as they sped towards the distant condo of the deceased Mir Isayev. Not one stopped to question the unmarked vehicle cruising down the streets in the opposite direction. The Spartans sat quietly, Yonalli holding his helmet in his arms.

"Who do you think those two party crashers were?" Yonalli asked, a question to break the cold atmosphere. Isayev was dead, but the job had gone as south as it possible could. Fortunately Odysseus managed to maintain control, however they were all a bit annoyed at the result.

"Probably his children." Tuskan sighed.

"Well, that's what I thought, but I don't remember him having a daughter." Yonalli responded, folding his arms behind his head.

"Kid's wife maybe? I don't know. Too young to be Mir's wife, I hope." Tuskan responded, glancing back at Yonalli from the passenger seat.

"But now she's dead." Hagan tuned in from the driver's seat. "And you know how well civilian casualties go over with Hudson."

"We didn't kill her." Yonalli cut in at the end of Hagan's statement. Tuskan sat in silence, listening.

"You think the URF cares? They'll find a way to pin it on the UNSC, and it won't be hard either." Hagan watched the rode, his grip loosening up on the steering wheel. Yonalli leaned back in his seat. He didn't respond to that. Hagan was right, after all.

Agnes simply watched the three converse from beside Yonalli. He could sense the tension in Odysseus, and he wondered if he was the cause of it. Giving his input would most likely only cause issues, and Agnes wanted to avoid issues at all cost, right now, even if it meant shutting up until they reached _Ode To Joy_. So that's exactly what he did, all through the ride, the boarding of the Pelican, and the ascent to the Prowler, Agnes kept quite. So did the rest of Odysseus. They'd had enough speaking for the day.


End file.
